Vero training camp news expected Monday

USF is expected to announce Monday that the Bulls will be holding about two weeks of preseason football training camp across the state in Vero Beach, and it's not the first time a Skip Holtz has bonded away from campus.

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In his first head coaching stint at Connecticut, Holtz took his team west to the Berkshire Mountains for training camp, following a model his father Lou used at Notre Dame, taking the Fighting Irish to camp at nearby Culver Military Academy.

"I think we need to get into a camp atmosphere -- we have to have camaraderie and chemistry building, players getting used to coaches and coaches getting used to players," Holtz said Friday. "This allows us to do that with zero distractions, and as a new staff, there's an advantage in being able to do that."

While details are still being finalized, the Bulls would likely spend two weeks at the Vero Beach Sports Village (formerly Dodgertown), starting practice Aug. 6 with a day or two on USF's campus, then returning to Tampa the weekend before fall classes start Aug. 23. That would still allow a full two weeks of practice before the Bulls open their season Sept. 4 against Division I-AA Stony Brook at Raymond James Stadium.

-- Former USF running back Jamar Taylor, who left the Bulls' team this spring, said he does not expect to play football anywhere this fall. Taylor, who has one year of eligibility remaining, is taking classes this summer at USF's campus in his hometown of Lakeland. He said he's about 20 credits short of graduating and plans to focus on getting his degree this fall, with no current plans to return to college football. Taylor was limited by a knee injury as a junior and finished with just eight carries for 30 yards.

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